The Big Snowball Competition
by sexycool-hana
Summary: There's a big snowball fightcompetition at Hogwarts! Losers get to treat butterbeer AND shout out their crushes' names! Lots of snow, hostages, blech...
1. LET IT SNOW!

THE BIG SNOWBALL COMPETITION!

NOTE: Christmas is fast approaching and it's given me a little inspiration… And to those who're still waiting for me to update "The Notepassers", "U.F.O. Baby" and "The Goose Girl", don't you worry. I'll try to add a chapter or two for each story before the New Year settles in. Oh, and for this story, let's pretend that after the war (Voldemort was defeated) everyone went back to school to finish their education and there is already what we call inter-house unity. Happy holidays and please read and review!

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CHAPTER 1: LET IT SNOW!

It all started on the 18th of December, when a certain brown-haired beauty was peacefully indulging on a "Fantastic Creatures and Where to Find Them: Volume Two" book. She was comfortably sitting on a large grey boulder under a tree beside the lake when a huge snowball hit her smack on the face.

"What the-" she screamed in utter bewilderment as she wiped off her face with the back of her snow mittens. "Ronald Weasley!"

No response. She waited for several more seconds before bellowing "You had better come out or I'm gonna shove a large snowball up your fat ass so quickly that you won't be able to walk properly for two weeks!"

Wham!

Another snowball hit her on the shoulder. She had managed a small scream of surprise before standing up abruptly, electricity coursing through her bushy brown hair making it frizzier than usual.

"That does it! You can come out now or it'll be worse for you! Oh no," she whimpered as she remembered her book. It got covered with snow and the pages that hit the snow were wet. "My book…"

Just then she looked up and saw her best friend Harry Potter walking up to her, a huge smirk plastered on his face. She felt a wave of rage suddenly boil up inside her, and she discreetly whipped out her wand and conjured a large snowball behind her.

"Hey, Mione," he said, still smirking. "What's up?"

"What's up?" Hermione repeated sarcastically. "I'll tell you what's up!"

She waved her wand and in a flash, her snowball hit Harry right on the face. He was caught off-guard and stumbled backwards. Hermione smirked to herself.

Just then, boisterous laughter rang throughout the whole courtyard. In the bushes behind her, out emerged Ron and Draco. The two were clutching on each other for support; they were laughing too hard!

Harry, on the other hand, brushed snow off of his hair and clothes while muttering profanities. Hermione walked up to him and helped him when he suddenly bellowed "What in blazes do you think you're doing?"

"Why, Harry!" Hermione replied in a stern way. "I never thought you'd be that hot-headed today, blabbering profanities and yelling at your best friend who, may I remind, also happens to be a woman!" That said, she stormed away.

Ron and Draco were still howling with laughter as Harry had just realized what he had done. "Hermione! Wait up!"

Hermione pretended to hear nothing as she continued walking briskly back to the castle. Harry ran up to her and caught her by the arm.

"Look, I'm sorry. I was shocked, that's all," he said.

"Shocked!" Hermione shot back, her eyes on the verge of tears. "I don't remember yelling at you when you threw that snowball in my face! I never suspected you –my sanest best friend- to have thrown that snowball to me! And my shoulder hurts, you idiot!"

"I never threw any snowballs at you!" he said gently, wiping her eyes with his thumb. "Come to think of it, I never threw any snowballs at you in all of my life."

Hermione looked up and met his emerald green eyes, and she felt like drowning in them. But she still kept her cool and whispered "Then why were you smirking like an idiot who just came out of a mental institution?"

Harry grinned (Hermione's heart skipped a beat; she always loved it when he grinned or smiled) and replied "Well, I just received a package from the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. You know, since they opened up that shop, I've been receiving free samples of their latest inventions and products."

"You what!" blurted Hermione. Harry grinned even wider and silenced her by gently placing his pointy finger on top of her lips.

"Hang on," he said lovingly and continued. "Well, those samples… I've never really used them. I gave them all away to Colin or to whomever I fancy giving it to. That never included you, of course," he added hastily as she raised her eyebrows and meant to speak. "But this parcel… It's different."

"What is it?"

"Come up to the castle with me," said Harry. "I left it in my dorm."

Hermione was about to say 'yes' when a snowball hit Harry on the side of his head. "Fuck," he said, and created a snowball with his hands. He threw it on the two figures that were about fifteen feet away from him; it narrowly missed Draco's face.

Ron and Draco continued laughing. "You couldn't even hit the side of a house from the roof, Harry!" Ron guffawed, clutching his belly that ached from too much laughter.

Just then, a snowball hit Ron on his wide open mouth with a force so strong he was knocked over backward.

"What the-" he said. "I swallowed some snow! Which of you fuckin' gits threw that?"

Draco was still laughing –this time because of Ron- when he, too, was hit. He staggered for a little while before he also fell backwards. "Shit," he groaned, but immediately stood up and ran towards Harry and Hermione.

Hermione was giggling while levitating a snowball with her wand; Harry was smirking. They waited for the two to come over to them and, when they did, burst out laughing.

"You think that was funny?" said Ron in an obviously mocking angry tone. "My tooth almost fell off."

"I think I've got snow inside my ear," Draco piped in, pulling his left earlobe in hopes of ridding the snow that went inside his ear.

"Serves you right. You two almost had me and Mione in a fight," Harry said. "We could have a competition right here and right now, and you'd still be the whimpering losers."

"Oh yeah?" said Draco, taking a step closer to Harry. "Just because you've got the cleverest with of our batch…"

"You'd be eating, breathing, and sleeping snow when we're done with you," said Ron. "Listen here. Losers treat winners to a butterbeer in Hogsmeade. How 'bout that?"

Hermione's eyes suddenly widened in fear. "N-n-not now!"

Three pairs of eyes turned to look at her. "Why not?" asked Draco.

"We've got Potions in ten minutes, you idiots!" she screamed and ran towards the castle. The three boys looked at one another for several seconds (as if checking if their companions were still in good mental condition) before turning on their heels and running after Hermione.

* * *

Later, before dinner, a huge announcement was put up on each and every common room, corridor, and classroom. Written in big, bold letters and noisy (talking and singing), neon cardboard is as follows:

x0x0 BIG SNOWBALL COMPETITION x0x0

Hogwarts Courtyard 

On the crack of dawn, Christmas morning (December 25)

TEAM 1 Leaders: Harry Potter and Hermione Granger

TEAM 2 Leaders: Ronald Weasley and Draco Malfoy

To sign up for a team, contact the leaders

Losers treat winners a butterbeer each AND they get to blurt out their crushes' name on the Great Hall before lunch

Only 70 members per team, so hurry up!

Approved by: Professor Albus Dumbledore


	2. OFFICIAL COMPETITION

NOTE: Okay, so I'm not getting enough reviews… but it's not stopping me from updating. Thank you for all those who read and reviewed, you guys rock! And I'm sorry for the crude language on the previous chapter. Have I offended anyone? And this chapter's less humorous, btw…

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CHAPTER 2: OFFICIAL COMPETITION…

Still 18th of December, a few hours after Harry, Ron and Draco put up the Snowball Competition notices: The whole seventh year students' batch felt exhausted. Their last lesson for the day, Care of Magical Creatures, involved chasing after a bunch of crazy creatures that look like a cross between a frog and a monkey called Clabberts (magical creatures native to the Southern U.S. and have brightly glowing pustules in the middle of their heads that give light, which flashes when they sense danger). By the end of the lesson, the students were all covered with snow sporting bite and scratch marks. Ron and Draco were looking extra-grumpy when they and the other seventh years entered the Great Hall for dinner; Hermione was busy tending to Harry's bloody finger, which he accidentally cut on the barbed-wire fence.

"Honestly!" grumbled Ron as he sat down and reached for the nearest dish. "The calmness of his tone when he announced that those stupid creatures were totally harmless could've fooled anyone. I should've known…"

Draco settled next to Ron and immediately called out "Has anyone seen my Kiki?"

"She visited the lavatory for a while," said a serene female voice behind him; Ron choked on his Chicken Pie and turned his head around so quickly that his neck cricked. "Said I could go ahead to the Great Hall and she'd catch up."

"Sit here, Luna," said Ron lovingly, patting on an empty space between him and Draco. Luna obeyed and Ron started piling food on her plate.

"Anyways," she continued as she eyed her boyfriend, Draco, Harry and Hermione each in turn. "Have you guys had another little spat? What's this competition thingy that everyone's been excitedly talking about?"

Harry swallowed his food and spoke. "Well, it wasn't really a quarrel that we had. More like a dare or a friendly competition or something." Hermione smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

"I see," said Luna. "And do you know that my whole batch is planning to sign up for it? And Ron, that's enough Blueberry Pie." Ron, who had been staring at her the whole time, looked down and gasped as he realized that he had put seven huge slices of it on her plate involuntarily.

"The whole sixth year Ravenclaws?" asked Seamus disbelievingly. Now everybody close enough to hear the conversation was listening in.

"Yes, Mr. Finnigan. They're actually getting ready this early, devising clever plans and war strategies… Ernie's even thinking of having his father's cannon shipped over in time for the competition."

Suddenly, a loud rumble (kind of like a thunder or volcano eruption) was heard and before Harry knew what was happening, thousands of hands and parchments were being shoved to his face, accompanied by shrieks and screams and howls of laughter. He felt like his eardrums would burst any minute now. He looked confusingly at Hermione, Draco and Ron and saw that they, too, were being buried alive with parchments and hands.

"Prrrrrttt!" A whistle was blown somewhere and the commotion immediately ceased.

"What's going on here!" bellowed a voice that they (especially Draco) knew too well.

"We were submitting our names to the team leaders of the snow competition until you butted in," said a surly voice.

Again, everyone tried to say something at the same time. It was getting noisy again when the whistle was blown again.

"How dare you all defy me? Back to your respective tables before I start deducting points! Now!"

Grumblings and mumbles were heard as the students heeded the prefect's order. The crowd cleared up and Harry and the others saw that Ginny Weasley was responsible for the restoration of peace and order. "What are the teachers and Headmaster doing?" she mumbled to herself, though it was quite audible for everyone to hear.

"Kiki!" Draco squealed as he stood up and approached the redhead.

"Pupu!" Ginny's stern facial expression changed into that of delight as she ran towards Draco. They embraced and kissed, momentarily oblivious to the fact that the whole school was watching them. Lavender, Parvati and the other girls from the Gryffindor table (with the obvious exception of Hermione) dreamily sighed at the sight of the lovers; on the other hand, Ron and Harry and the all the boys pretended to choke and gag with disgust. Hermione just simply rolled her eyes and murmured "I hate it when they call each other by their nicknames."

During the war, Draco and Ginny had found each other for solace and comfort. Ginny made Draco realize that the light side has the better perspective. In the process of helping Harry find the last remaining Horcruxes, the two fell in love with each other. Eventually, Harry and the others accepted Draco and forgave him for all of his dirty deeds.

Ron and Luna's love story, however, began when Ron had rescued her from the hands of three Junior Death Eaters. He comforted her and when she had regained her senses, he escorted her back home. But things took a turn for the worse when she got home and found her father dead and the place a huge mess. With no place left to go, Luna was glad to have been admitted by Ron and his family warmly to the Burrow, where they fell in love. Now, she's currently under the care and supervision of her new makeshift guardian- Professor Albus Dumbledore (who really wasn't dead all that time).

But Harry and Hermione's story was classic, it need not be retold. Everybody knew that they have been together through thick and thin ever since they were first years. Their feelings matured not until they were fifth years. Though they're not officially a couple, people see them as perfectly made for each other no matter how much they try to deny it.

* * *

After dinner, Hermione conjured up two medium-sized boxes and labeled them. She placed them on a table near the entrance of the Great Hall for the whole student body to see. Meanwhile, Ginny called everyone's attention (which was very hard to do, as the students were starting to chatter and get loud because dinner was already finished) for some special announcements.

Having performed the Sonorus charm on herself, she confidently stood on the podium and began: "Listen carefully, people, this is regarding the snowball competition! Nott, stop throwing those pies at Midgen or it'll cause you a year's worth of housepoints! Stop the fuckin' food fight over there!" she pointed at the Hufflepuff table. "Will everybody please stop the commotion for just a second and listen!"

"OI!" Draco, who was fed up when nobody was paying the littlest notice to his Kiki, performed the Sonorus charm on his self and bellowed. "ANYBODY WHO WON'T LEND HIS OR HER EARS FOR THIS SPEECH WOULD BE AN ABSOLUTE GONER BEFORE YOU COULD EVEN SAY 'SNOWBALL'! THIS IS MY GIRLFRIEND TALKING HERE SO YOU'D BETTER SHUT UP AND PAY ATTENTION IF YOU DON'T WANT TO FIND YOURSELF IN THE INFIRMARY WITH NO BALLS AND NO NIPPLES! OW!" He earned himself a punch from Hermione and a detention from Professor McGonagall. Nevertheless, the Great Hall fell silent.

"Thank you, that's much better," said Ginny. "Outside are two boxes, one labeled as Team A and the other labeled as Team B. Team A is under the leadership of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger-" (everyone clapped and cheered) "and Team B is under Ronald Weasley and Draco Malfoy!"

Silence. After a few minutes or so, Neville (only) clapped with utmost uncertainty. Ron and Draco glared at each and every student in the Hall.

"Right," continued Ginny. "All you have to do is drop in a piece of parchment with your name, your age, and your year and house on the box labeled with the team you wish to join. Just make sure that you aren't going to spend your Christmas anywhere but here at Hogwarts! From the 20th to the 22nd are trainings-cum-auditions, held by the team leaders every morning at dawn. The names of the students who qualify for the competition will be posted on the 23rd of December on your respective common room's bulletin board. On the 24th, you get to have a meeting devising strategies and ideas. Those who are not qualified, however, are welcome to watch the competition. In fact, anybody is welcome to watch the competition so you could invite your families, relatives, friends, etc. About the punishment… six sickles isn't that painful for your wallets, is it? It's just for a butterbeer… and you get to reveal who your crush is before dinnertime that same day! Sooo… Any questions? If there are none, I could give the floor to the Gryffindor Head Girl for she, too, has an announcement to make."

When nobody raised their hands, Ginny stepped off the podium to be replaced by Hermione.

"Good evening everyone, I also have an important announcement to make. This year is something special. I could tell, because I could see excited faces up and about," ("Hear! Hear!" cheered a majority of the students) "and because we have some activities planned, by which I refer to the Snowball fight. So, to top up all the students' excitement and to furthermore encourage the Christmas spirit, the Heads of House and the Head Boys and Girls have decided to put up another Yuletide Ball!"

The Great Hall boomed with claps, cheers and whistles. It was so noisy that they would likely be heard from Australia, but nobody cared. The Christmas spirit was just so intense this year that there would undoubtedly be no one signing for the train back home for the Christmas holidays.

* * *

After several more hours of chit-chat, Dumbledore dismissed them all (he was quite happy and excited as well). There was difficulty with the traffic, however, due to the boxes just right outside the Oak doors. Harry and the gang had to wait for one whole hour before the crowd began to disperse. During that time, Draco and Luna had already bid their lovers' goodbye, leaving the four Gryffindors traveling up by themselves to their dormitories.

"Hermione, about that parcel I received from Fred and George…" Harry reminded Hermione on their way up.

"Oh my Gosh, Harry! I totally forgot!" said Hermione, lightly covering her mouth with her hand. "Let's discuss it over by the fire in the common room, okie?"

"Sure," said Harry with a bright smile. "Actually, I was planning on giving it to you as a Part 1 present…"

"Oh, Harry… You don't have to," said Hermione.

"Don't mind me, love. You know I love seeing you happy," Harry said, to which Hermione replied with a grin. Meanwhile, Ginny and Ron were sharing knowing smiles behind the couple… It _is_ true love!


	3. I HEART WEASLEY'S WIZARDING WHEEZES

_I know, I KNOW, it's been a while (almost three years, approximately)… It's just that, well stares at floor looking quite embarrassed and red-faced… The conclusion of the ships really rattled me. I was so confident that Harry would end up with his best friend but…_

_And so I stopped writing fanfictions about them…_

_Until one my best friends who also happens to love to write told me that those ships—well, they continue to live in the shippers' lives through imagination and fanart and – of course—fanfictions!_

_I went back to my Fanfiction page and read all the reviews for my stories and realized that whatever the outcome of the ships I fell kind of responsible to the folks out there who happen to like my work and to my lifelong dream—writing._

_And so I'm coming back to the writing industry with a smile on my face. I just hope I'll be forgiven and still be accepted. Harry and Hermione may not have ended up together, but in my heart they're made for no one else but each other! :)_

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CHAPTER 3: I HEART WEASLEY'S WIZARDING WHEEZES

"So… What's up, Harry?" Hermione inquired once she and Harry settled on their favorite spot in the common room after prepping up for the night. The common room was bustling with activity and conversations regarding the upcoming festivities, but the two were unperturbed in their private space (which consisted of a small sofa in a cramped corner directly to the right of the fireplace).

Harry produced a square package that was neatly-wrapped in pink-and-green Christmas wrapper with a scarlet ribbon and gingerly handed it to a very curious-looking Hermione. A tag sticking out from the ribbon bore the unmistakable logo of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. She raised her eyebrows questioningly at her best friend, who transmitted signals of encouragement through his emerald-green eyes and a nod.

Hermione pulled on the bow. The wrapper immediately slid off to reveal its content—a golden box which she further opened. Settled in the middle of the box surrounded by shreds of colored paper was a butterfly. She let out a sudden gasp of admiration. To her, it looked like a stunning hair ornament or an elegant gem-studded charm. Its beautiful wings were decked with different colors of shiny gems while its body was sleek and shiny grey. She scooped it out from its box.

"It's so pretty," she said, her eyes sparkling. "What is it, Harry?"

"Fred and George call it the _"Butterfly of Immense Luck"._ It's supposed to be lucky. They said it would make a great pet!" Harry proudly replied. His grin was similar to that of a schoolboy showing his mummy a picture he himself made using crayons at school.

"Really?" said Hermione disbelievingly, but as soon as she said those words the butterfly stirred and fluttered its wings. It circled her and Harry's head before it settled on her right shoulder. "It's brilliant. Is it an animal?"

"No, it's made out of metal. It's rhinestone-studded y'see, and it's bewitched to behave like a pet. This one's a sample from the WWW's new line "_Romantics_". Erm… Uh… I think it's because they'd make great gifts for special someone's," he added when Hermione gave him another questioning glance.

"Well, it's pretty… But why would you give this to _me_? Why not to that special someone you're wooing right now? Uhm… There is _someone_, right?"

Harry turned a deep purple in front of Hermione. He avoided her gaze. Suddenly, he became uneasy, squirming and fidgeting while obviously trying to find the right words to say to her. "Erm, ahh… Th-that is…"

"Harry?"

There was a mystical force, so powerful, enveloped in her voice when she said his name that made Harry's mind go completely blank. He slowly turned towards her to find that her face was very close, merely inches away, from his. He stupidly stared back into her warm cinnamon eyes with his emerald-green ones, his lips parted and anticipating hers; inch by inch he closed the distance between their faces with agonizing slowness. She closed her eyes and he mimicked. Harry and Hermione both knew that deep in their hearts, this is what they've wanted for so long…

...

…

…

…

…

"KIKI!"

Harry and Hermione both jumped about a foot high. Draco towered in front of them with an exasperated look in his face. "My Kiki-poo?"

Hermione opened her mouth to answer but Harry beat her to it. "HOW THE HELL SHOULD WE KNOW WHERE YOUR KIKI IS, YOU IDIOT?! WE WERE ABOUT TO KISS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MAGICAL HISTORY AND YOU COME DISRUPTING OUR MOMENT OF ETERNAL TRUTH AND BLISS!"

…

…

"You were about to kiss?" asked Draco, blinking innocently at them.

"We were about to kiss?" Hermione quietly asked herself, eyebrows raised.

The whole common room hushed when Harry and his gigahertz voice reprimanded Draco, but it buzzed excitedly in response to the news. Harry—who was towering rigidly over the intruder with narrowed eyes, askew glasses, solar-red-face and heavy breathing during his fit of anger—turned pink and wide-eyed when what he had said and done finally registered to him.

"I… Uh…"

The butterfly on Hermione's shoulder fluttered to Draco. Its wings glistened and glowed beautifully in the firelight and under the chandelier's light. Draco's eyes followed it intently. It stopped in front of him and he voiced out his admiration. "What is it? It's so beautiful, flying tenderly… dreamily…"

Not!

Draco was awakened from his trance when the butterfly loudly hissed and sputtered in front of him. The noise was enough for the whole common room to grow quiet again as everyone searched for the cause of the noise, which wasn't really hard to locate because the butterfly started to emit a yellowish-brown powdery substance from its fluttering wings directly towards Draco.

Draco started to cough and sneeze as everyone watched from the sidelines. Then suddenly he became rigid as a board and toppled over. Several women screamed (and some men—Neville, to name one). Harry caught him and laid him on the couch. The crowd gathered around the unfortunate man while speculating as to what might have caused him to be so. Hermione bent over him, scraped some powder from his clothes with her finger and sniffed, and made a face. "It's Stun Spore," she declared. "Poor Drakie-poo's paralyzed, alright. Lavender, would you kindly fetch the Paralysis Heal Potion from my medicine cabinet?" Lavender, who was nearest to Hermione, nodded and fought through the crowd to the spiral staircases.

"Mmmph… Mmmph… Mmm- mmm- mmmph…" the paralyzed Slytherin groaned.

"What's he trying to say?" asked Dean.

"How the hell should we know?" Dennis Creevey shot back.

"I think he's trying to say that the butterfly's coming towards him again and that he's scared," Harry piped in. His eyes were on the butterfly.

"Mmmph!" Draco grunted with narrowed eyes.

Again, everyone stared at the butterfly as if mesmerized and immobilized by its beauty. Nobody stopped it when it made hissing noises again and fluttered its wings vehemently, now shooting off violet glittery dust at the poor Draco.

"Here's the potion, Hermione." Lavender's voice startled Hermione from her trance and she grabbed the butterfly and stuffed it into her pocket. She then proceeded to administer the 

potion on Draco. Draco's body relaxed and he slumped in the couch. "What is that- that horrible thing?!" he blurted out.

"It's a butterfly from WWW," Hermione said timidly.

"That explains why it wants to kill me!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Nah! It attacked because it thought you were also attacking its masters." Everyone turned around to see a smirking Ron in black and gold pajamas, lazily leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "At least, that's what the twins told me. Y'see, the lifelong charm on the butterfly is supposed to make it genuinely behave like any loyal pet would to its master—defending him or her and obeying orders are few of its features."

"YOU LOOK HOT, WEASLEY."

Ron practically slid off the wall he was leaning on, his expression changed from that of smugness to bewilderedness. The crowd gave off a collective gasp as they turned their heads yet again to the most unexpected person who'd say that kind of thing (but did, anyway).

"Draco?" Lavender asked weakly.

Draco also had a surprised expression on his face. "I _didn't mean _to say that!" he said exasperatedly.

"What in the world…?" Harry said.

"The butterfly!" Hermione gasped.

"My name is Draco Malfoy," Draco blabbed on. "I believe global warming is only a myth. I'm deathly afraid of rabbits and hippogriffs. I have a collection of PlayBoy under my bed that rivals that of Flitwick's. I once believed Harry was gay until I found out his PlayBoy collection, too."

"Harry?" Hermione blurted out.

"I already burned those up!" Harry said defensively.

"That's what he says, but actually he passed it on to Seamus and Dean," Draco retorted.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Harry growled.

"That purple powder from the butterfly… I think it's Veritapowder! It's a derivative of the Veritaserum. It makes you tell the truth!" a panic-stricken Hermione replied. "Lavender, please fetch me the Truth Potion Antidote this time—it's the blue bottle—from the same cabinet." Again, Lavender squeezed through the crowd to get to the stairs.

"I can't swim. Hemorrhoids run in our family. I saw Neville Longbottom kiss Padma Patil in the Astronomy Tower. I believe the Chudley Cannons is the worst Quidditch team in the league and will come in last this season yet again—"

"La la la la la la la LAAAAA! I'M NOT LISTENING!" yelled an exasperated Ron, both hands over his ears and eyes shut tight.

"Crabbe and Goyle hid the Hufflepuff banner in the laundry room. Then they stole the Gryffindor girls' underwear and sold them in eBay for three galleons a-piece."

A group of first-year girls gasped and ran off red-faced to their dormitories. Meanwhile, Dean explained to the others what eBay is while Neville pondered, "They accept galleons on eBay?"

Draco was obviously getting tired from too much talking; he started to pant softly in between words. "I'm allergic to cats but got pretty turned on anyways when I spied on Crookshanks and Mrs. Norris getting it on in the right wing dungeon."

"But they're both females!" exclaimed Parvati.

"_Exactly!_" Draco said heatedly.

Just then, a petite red-headed girl appeared at the foot of the spiral staircase to the girls' dormitories, a thick blue encyclopedia clutched in her right hand. She was wearing an irritated expression, and one would deduce that it may be because she wasn't able to concentrate on studying due to the noise in the common room. "Just what is going on around here? Pupu? Is that you?" she said when she caught sight of the blond wizard at the far end of the common room who just happens to be her boyfriend.

Draco had no inkling as to the redhead rushing over to his direction, and it is fate that so cruelly intervened to bring them together at the exact moment when Draco reveals how he managed to get inside the Gryffindor common room.

"…and I proceeded to flirt with the beautiful Yvannah—y'know, she's in third year from this house—and sort of just brushed my lips against her cheeks while huskily whittling the password for the Fat Lady's portrait. We were only three minutes into the game and she already gave it to me." That said, Draco laughed maniacally, proud of his "achievement".

"DRACO MALFOY!" Ginny Weasley's banshee-like scream made everyone in the common room quiet down for the nth time tonight. "YOU PERVERTED CHEATER! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" She turned on her heel and made to storm back to her room when Draco returned to his senses and managed to grab her arm. "N-no, Kiki! I only did that because I wanted to see you!"

"He's telling the truth, Gin," said Hermione. "He's under the influence of Veritapowder."

"But still, you flirted with another woman!" Ginny's eyes were in danger of pouring out tears. "How could you, Pupu?"

"I'm telling you, it's because for some unknown reason I just couldn't resist not seeing you tonight. Plus, I kind of forgot to tell you of something important."

"And what might that be?"

"Well, in Care of Magical Creatures today, I won Professor Hagrid's challenge—to catch the most Clabberts within an hour (I caught four!). I was rewarded with the honor to name a newly-born Clabbert. And, well… I named it after _us_. I named it _Dranny_…"

Ginny and Draco were oblivious to the fact that the whole common room made retching noises and merciless comments regarding Draco's taste for naming. The couple just stared into each other's eyes and kissed lovingly.

"Oh, and Kiki… I never really liked the Pumpkin Pie you made for the Bake Sale. I was just being nice then. It actually tasted like it had rubber and glue in its filling…"

Lavender, panting out of exhaustion, returned to the scene to find Harry and Hermione grimly shaking their heads and the crowd cheering as they gathered around what appears to be a fistfight. "Huff… Puff… H-here is the potion, Hermione. What's that riot over there?"

"Thanks, Lavi. You were great," said Hermione kindly. "But may I perhaps ask of you a last favor? Could you perhaps bring me cotton balls and some disinfectant and something for black-eyes and bruises? Yes, Wartroot ointment would be just fine…"

* * *

December 19th was a Saturday, and so the students were treated to an open trip to Hogsmeade, the magical village located near Hogwarts. Harry and Hermione came upon a mutual agreement that they'd spend their whole time looking for magical items that they could use for the snowball fight. The butterfly, which Hermione named Stunner, was beautifully perched on her hair making it indeed look like a hairclip. It was hard to believe that this enchanting artifact was the cause of the restless night at the Gryffindor common room last night, let alone the root of Draco Malfoy's misfortunes and physical injuries. It came as a surprise to everyone during breakfast, however, how Ginny seemed to have forgotten the events of last night as the couple acted as if nothing had happened. If not for the obvious and poorly-disguised lashes, claw marks, and purple bumps and bruises around Draco's eyes and on his face, the killer butterfly rumor would not have been credible.

And then there's another rumor which is much more to the distaste of Harry and Hermione: their (almost) lip-lock escapade last night, although they both never confirmed nor denied of anything about it. Still, it was obvious that they'd never as much as allow it to keep them apart nor make them feel uncomfortable around each other, let alone taint their relationship as friends or—perhaps—as impending lovers. As Ginny puts it, "It's TRUE LOVE, I tell you!" Deep inside their hearts, they couldn't agree more.

On their way to Zonko's—their first stop of the day—Harry and Hermione were interrupted in the act of crossing the street by a long line of about fifty or so schoolchildren; at the front of the line was who appeared to be their supervisor. Everyone who watched them were awed by the little tykes; the girls wore carnation-pink dress robes with matching white sailor hats while the boys wore navy-blue robes with black school berets.

"I think they're from "_Beetle the Bard's Orphanage_"," a spectator announced. Harry and Hermione listened intently for more clues that would give away more information about the children.

"I bet they are. The news about their orphanage is quite terrible though."

"Excuse me ma'am, we can't help but overhear," Hermione piped in. "What is wrong with the orphanage?"

"My, haven't you heard yet? It's in the local newspapers. Beetle the Bard can't meet the children's necessities anymore. The board's budget is downspiraling"

"Why, that's horrible!" said Harry sincerely. "But, why?"

"Most of the patrons declared bankruptcy, what with the war and all that. They weren't very rich anyways. The ministry threatens to shut it down completely if this continues."

"Oh, I wish there's something that could be done," Hermione moaned. She and the others watched as the children settled in two rows in a part of the pavement. Each child fixed their clothing and smoothed out the creases and then proceeded to stand erect while their supervisor stood in front facing them. She cleared her throat and counted softly to three.

"_O Holy Night, the stars are brightly shining…" _The children started to sing in varying tones and pitches; nevertheless, the effect was angelic and relaxing. "_It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth…_"

"Oh, Harry," Hermione whispered as she unconsciously held Harry's hand. "We've got to do something about those children somehow. But what can we do?"

"I'm sure we'll think of a way," replied Harry in a reassuring voice and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. They approached the little carolers along with many others and dropped galleons in their can. The pair waited until they finished one more song before they approached the children.

"Good day, madam," Hermione first greeted the Supervisor.

"Good day. Aren't you the witch who represented London in the recent International Magical Quiz Bee? I saw you on the news."

"Oh, yes, that would be me. I'm Hermione Granger, madam. How do you do?"

"Hello, Hermione. I'm Matilda Kirkbag and I'm the in-charge at the humble Beetle the Bard's Orphanage."

"And this here with me is my best friend Harry Potter," Hermione said.

"How do you do, ma'am?" said Harry.

"Oh, my word! Is it really—"

"Harry Potter!" whispered some of the kids with amazement.

"It's him, it's him, _it's him!_" squealed the girls.

"Isn't he handsome?" said a girl with pigtails and clutching a teddy bear; she seemed to be the youngest in the group.

"And that's Hermione Granger, the genius witch!" said some boys in an audible whisper. Harry and Hermione couldn't help but grin at the tykes.

"May we?" asked Hermione indecisively to Matilda. The female supervisor nodded with a smile.

Harry and Hermione crouched down on the children. Harry carried the youngest up in his arms—the one that owns the teddy bear.

"And may I know the name behind the pretty face, little miss?" he asked her. The girl giggled.

"It's Callie," she answered.

Meanwhile, some girls and boys gathered around Hermione as she narrated how the International tourney went. Stunner fluttered over the children, dodging hands that tried to catch it playfully.

"…and then the streets of Diagon Alley were filled with carts and carts of Zeenanas and Starberries to celebrate the Quiz Bee," she said animatedly. "But what I loved the most was the Chocolatier's Confections. There was a huge fountain inside that was flowing with strawberry-chocolate milk! After a while, I kind of forgot that I was there on a mission and not on vacation! You know, I remember when I was standing on that podium. Every question somehow came to me as difficult even when I knew I went over them…"

"You know, Harry, I've been with these children through a lot now," said Matilda, eyeing the children longingly. "The news about the orphanage closing down hurt when it first hit me. It hurt double for the children though. Days passed when they would act totally exhausted and irritated over nothing. This—what you and Hermione are doing right now—is somewhat a relief from those days. I thank you deeply. I see that with the two of you right now, the children are happy."

Harry eyed the children gathered around Hermione, who was laughing with the rest of them, and thought about how intent she was when she said that she wanted to do something.

* * *

After bidding farewell to the children—some teary-eyed—Harry and Hermione continued on to Zonko's, where upon entrance they were met by Ron, Luna, Draco, and Ginny.

"What held you two up?" asked Ginny.

"Nothing much," replied a red-faced Hermione. "So, anything new?"

"Look what we found for our team!" said Draco proudly, opening the paper bags of merchandise from different stores. There were dungbombs, snow guns, rubber balloons, and smoke balls…

"So, have you two been looking for items, too?" asked Luna.

"We plan to," said Harry.

Just then the shop door opened and in walked two red-haired wizards who the gang knew just so well.

"Fred! George!" Ron cried out.

The twins, in matching scarves and mittens, cheerfully waved at them as they approached. "We were told we'd find you here!" said George.

"We've something to show you all!" said Fred. He beckoned to the door and out they all went, into the blinding whiteness of the December snow. The twins led them into the Hog's Head and into a private room where on the large table was a…

"Oh, bloody hell," Ron gasped.

"It's magnificent," Harry said.

"And, it'd be perfect," the twins chorused. The gang raised their eyebrows at them.

"The snowball competition?" Fred pointed out.

"Oh, right," Draco said.

"We call this invention the Snowmuncher Snowcannon!" said George with pride.

"It munches snow then turns them into snowballs!" said Fred.

"And then it fires 20,000Newton five-snowballs a-shot," concluded George.

The gang continued to stare and observe the big silver cannon mounted on the table. It was sleek and shiny, with adjustable focus and ocular scopes. Hermione ran a finger to it while Ron squealed "You have to loan it to us!"

The twins laughed maliciously. "We don't loan, brother," said Fred.

"We sell!" said George.

"How much for it?" Draco asked.

"Five hundred galleons," was the unanimous reply from the Weasley twins.

"FIVE HUNDRED GALLEONS?!" the gang echoed.

"That's a bit overboard, isn't it?" Hermione said weakly.

Fred and George looked at each other then feigned a look of sorrow. "We are hurt, Hermione," they said.

"We custom-designed this latest invention in time for your competition," Fred said.

"Five hundred galleons isn't even enough if you take into consideration our efforts and good intentions," said George, shaking his head.

Silence.

"Well… I suppose I could ask dad for financial support," said Draco slowly.

"And I suppose I could ask Hagrid to take some money from my Gringotts account," said Harry.

"Well then… First come, first serve," said George.

"May the swifter man win," said Fred, as he and the others watched Harry and Draco eye each other competitively.

_You may think that this chapter's a bit inconsistent to the plot but fear not! It IS essential to the plot... Somehow. Gulp READ AND REVIEW!! :)_


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